Letters to the editor for Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Wednesday

Oct 10, 2012 at 2:00 AM

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case challenging the Federal Communications Commission's claim of a right to have wireless phone towers placed wherever it wants, regardless of the interests of the local jurisdictions affected.

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case challenging the Federal Communications Commission's claim of a right to have wireless phone towers placed wherever it wants, regardless of the interests of the local jurisdictions affected.

The FCC claims it has the power to override any local jurisdiction considering an application by a wireless company for building a cell tower in a certain area when such jurisdiction fails to address the application within a reasonable period of time. If jurisdictions fail to approve or deny the application within a certain deadline, the FCC claims it can make the decision for them.

Keep in mind that it's not an option for jurisdictions to reject applications out of hand simply because of a looming deadline. If that should happen, further litigation would be sure to follow, costing taxpayers money.

For the Supremes, the issue is whether the FCC has the power to interpret its own statutes without deferring to others. For us, the issue is whether the FCC can ride roughshod over our cities and towns, and have these towers put up near our homes. Well, can it? This case could raise Fifth and 10th Amendment issues.

Michael Radowitz

Newburgh

I am writing in support of Kyle Roddey for Assembly. Kyle is the most experienced candidate as he is a mayor, a business manager and a state-certified social studies teacher.

Kyle has taken on huge challenges in the Village of Goshen and gotten many things done. Additionally, Kyle is not afraid to stand up to Kiryas Joel — he was one of the first people to come out against annexation. Kyle stands up for us.

While Kyle's opponent, James Skoufis, takes full credit for our community's response to Hurricane Irene, Kyle is always giving credit to others. No doubt Kyle took a strong leadership role during the storm in Goshen, but he also went out of his way to recognize police, fire and EMS personnel. The Woodbury Community Association's members also helped, raising almost $25,000 that was distributed to affected families.

The contrast is clear. I am supporting Kyle Roddey because he has a proven record of standing up for his constituents and cutting wasteful spending, which is exactly what we need in Albany. Vote Roddey for the 99th Assembly District.

Donald Siebold

Woodbury

President Obama was the real winner of the first debate. After hearing the debate, I was at first discouraged, but then I realized that Mitt Romney was not telling the truth about his ideas. He also came across as rude to the president and bullying to the moderator.

Obama may not be perfect, but considering the opposition from congressional Republicans, who have stated that they were more interested in making him a one-term president than in doing the business of the nation, he is actually doing a pretty good job. These same Republicans have blocked many good programs that were proposed by the president.

It may also be said that Obama has a day job that may have prevented him from spending enough time preparing for the debate. Romney has shown by his actions that he cares more about moving wealth to the upper 1 percent than in improving conditions for working and middle-class people.